AMOA Vows To Push For Action After Analysis On iPod NightsMarcus WebbCHICAGO — The Amusement & Music Operators Association on Oct. 5 released its attorneys’ report on the legality of “iPod nights,” along with a “white paper” policy statement declaring that AMOA will press the music industry to enforce copyrights in an effort to defend the jukebox market. Earlier this year, AMOA commissioned the law firm of Serling, Rooks and Ferrara LLP to investigate the legal status of public performance of music through use of Apple’s iPod, a personal digital music storage and playback device.

CHANGING TIMES: Can Operators Adapt To The Cashless Society Of Tomorrow?Marcus WebbWalk around with an operator at a trade show – or watch him pay for lunch at a restaurant – and sooner or later, you’re likely to see him retrieve a wallet thick with banknotes. Or perhaps he just carries a fat roll of bills. Operators live with cash every day. They earn it, collect it, count it, transport it, vault it, bank it and pay for everyday transactions with it. In fact, they eat, breathe and think cash, with some operators practically swimming in it. And, after generations of doing business this way, cash is almost as invisible to these operators as water is to fish.

Growing Table Soccer Enthusiasm Spells Comeback For Classic GameMarcus WebbU.S.A. — “I think foosball is on the brink of a new peak of success. The grassroots is seeing a groundswell in popularity, and we are on our way back to the mainstream,” said Charles Mackintosh of TornadoFoosball.com (Summerfield, NC). He adds: “We are seeing a good mix of new players coming into the sport, including many young professionals.

IALEI Selects Sarris To Succeed Sjolander As Executive DirectorMarcus WebbHERSHEY, PA — Tracy Sarris assumed the post of executive director of the International Association for the Leisure and Entertainment Industry on Nov. 1, and will work with outgoing executive director Carole Sjolander through the end of December. IALEI headquarters will relocate to Sarris’s area of Hershey, PA.

Coinstar To Acquire Amusement Factory, One Of The Nation’s Largest Bulk Vending OperationsBy HANK SCHLESINGER and MARCUS WEBBBELLEVUE, WA — Already the United States’ largest operator with approximately 47,000 locations in all 50 states, Coinstar Inc. will put even greater distance between itself and its next-largest competitor with the planned purchase of The Amusement Factory LLC later this year. The Amusement Factory is the nation’s second largest operator with more than 14,000 locations.

Technology, ‘Know How’ Are Key To Efficient Route ManagementHank SchlesingerU.S.A. — Bulk vending, which was perhaps a little slow to jump on the hi-tech bandwagon, is now a computerized industry. In a recent, albeit unscientific survey of small to mid-sized operators, virtually all of them responded that they use at least one computer to run their routes, track inventory and monitor sales.